With the death of four persons and injuries to many others including police and administrative officers—political leaders across the spectrum launched a scathing o criticism against the BJP-led state government.
The incident unfolded on November 24 as protesters clashed with police over a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque.
The tension quickly spiraled into chaos, exposing deep communal fault lines and sparking a political slugfest
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of leveraging its power to deepen religious divides.
“The biased and hasty attitude of the state government on the recent dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is extremely unfortunate. I express my deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the violence and firing,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Gandhi didn’t mince words, holding the BJP directly accountable for the violence.
“The administration, without listening to all the parties, insensitively took action that vitiated the atmosphere further and led to the deaths of people—for which the BJP government is directly responsible.
Calling for immediate judicial intervention, Gandhi urged the Supreme Court to step in.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra echoed similar sentiments, slamming the Yogi Adityanath-led government for ‘spoiling the atmosphere’ through its ‘hasty’ actions.
Accusing the state government of spreading division and discrimination, Priyanka Gandhi urged the judiciary to take cognizance of the situation.
The honorable Supreme Court should take cognizance of the matter and do justice,” she added.
The violence has also prompted a strong reaction from other Opposition leaders.
“The first thing is that the mosque in Sambhal is not 50-100 years old, but 200-250 years old.
The court passed an ex-parte order regarding the mosque without hearing its caretakers, which is wrong.
This is not firing, this is murder,” said AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav called the incident ‘unfortunate’ and confirmed that his party would raise the issue in Parliament.
Sambhal MP Ziaur Rahman Barq took a hard stand, terming the incident ‘pre-planned’ and alleging that the Muslim community was being targeted.
Congress MP Imran Masood went a step further, accusing the state government of orchestrating the violence.
Responding to the allegations, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj labeled the violence as ‘pre-planned,’ blaming those unsettled by the saffron party’s ascendancy in the state. “It was instigated by those who have been taken aback by his party’s rise in the country, especially after its performance in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls in which it won seven of the nine seats,” Sakshi Maharaj said.
The incident has reignited concerns over the use of communal polarisation as a political tool. As tension continues to simmer in Sambhal, all eyes are now on the Supreme Court, which has been urged to intervene.
